“The Natural Love of Humans & Nature” by Seongeun Lee
October 14, 2022
My work reflects on the relationship between human existence and coexistence within nature, which is a mutualistic relationship with mankind. Humans and nature are indispensable and during this era of Covid-19, space and artwork about how we return to nature are being practiced and actively created. My work combines and materializes the connection between humans and nature—illustrating the unified relationship through soft sculpture made from natural fiber materials.
In 2020 I held my first solo exhibition, ETERNAL WEB, with the main keyword and theme being existentiality. This exhibition portrayed modern people losing their fundamental existence through social networks. I used the weave of irregular threads in the human figure that is reminiscent of human blood vessels and a social network that spreads in all directions.
Seongeun Lee, Alive, 2020. Cast cotton thread, silver thread, gauze, organza, and bast fiber, 78 x 35 inches. Photo: J.from studio.
Continuing this idea, my second solo exhibition, in 2022, CONNECTION, portrays the coexistence between humans and nature. The motifs featured are from images portraying the vitality of nature, with the main material being natural fibers. Cotton and metal threads, linen, and bast fiber were dyed and the fabric was cut to form a harmony of lines and surface design. Using a sewing machine, I created a unit of mixed fibers, and over time and accumulation, these threads became a three-dimensional sculpture reminiscent of blood vessels and the fibers within plants. These pieces are fluid yet solid and allow viewers to feel the intensity of an intrinsic love of nature.
Seongeun Lee, Green Horizon, 2021. Cast cotton thread, metal thread, gauze and bast fiber, 33.5 x 16.5 x 8.5 inches. Photo: J.from studio.
Seongeun Lee, Breathe into being, 2022. Cast cotton thread, metal thread, gauze and bast fiber, 90.5 x 24 inches. Photo: J.from studio.
Fiber art, which has always been a part of the flow of mankind, is constantly inspired by the keyword nature. Creating art is a process of self-establishment for myself and many other artists. Through three-dimensional soft sculpture, I will continue to highlight the responsibility to my viewers to better understand their connection and relationship to nature.
Seongeun Lee, 15 to 24, 2022. Cast cotton thread, metal thread, gauze, linen and bast fiber, 13 x 17 inches. Photo: J.from studio.
–Seongeun Lee lives and works in Busan, South Korea. She is Ph.d candidate at Pusan National University in Fiber Art. She received her BFA from Pusan National University in 2019 and also completed her MFA in 2021 in Fiber Art. She is interested in human existence and coexistence. Her three-dimensional fiber sculpture simultaneously shows the softness and strength of fiber materials.
Seongeun Lee, Breathe 003 (detail), 2022. Cast cotton threads, metal thread, linen and bast fiber, 11×15 inches. Photo: J.from studio.
